The Other Side of the Rainbow
by Chihori Anigma
Summary: In a different timeline, in a different universe the Mauraders met each other much later than they would have and in enturely different circumstances. Muggle!AU Modern!AU


I climbed onto the crowded bus and passed the reader over with my Oyster card. I walked up the steps to the second level of the bus, hoping against hope that there would be an empty seat. There was, the last one, tucked all the way in the back corner. Old gum dotted the window and some cigarette stubs were on the floor, but as tired as I was I didn't care.

Soon the rocking of the bus and the fact that I had taken two exams and studied for two more that day put me to sleep. When I woke up the sky was steadily growing darker and nobody was on the bus. I looked at the time. It was 8:00. I should have been off the bus half an hour before!

"Stay calm, Remus," I muttered to myself. "There's no need to panic. You can just ask someone where you are." The only problem with that plan was the fact that nobody else seemed to be on the bus. Then I saw someone's hands raise over the bus seat as if the person the belonged to was stretching. I hurried to the seat where I thought I had seen the hands stretch from.

A boy about my age was sitting there. He had black hair that was a little long and was wearing a dark green uniform tie and pants. The blazer was sitting rumpled on the seat beside him. He looked as if he had just woken up.

"Excuse me?" I asked politely.

"Yes?" The boy seemed more awake now that I had spoken to him, even if it was only two words.

"I fell asleep on the bus and I seem to have missed my stop. Could you, please, tell me where I am?"

"We're near Islington. Where do you need to get to?"

"Islington! I need to be in Watford. I don't even know which bus to take from here."

"Calm down, mate. Here, you can use my phone to check where you need to get off to catch a bus back to Watford. I would let you use my computer, but my parents are a bit weird about letting my friends into the house.

"Sirius Black, by the way."

I took the phone handed to me. It was the newest model from Apple, something my family could never afford. It obviously was not well looked after because there were pencil shavings covering the screen and when I dusted them off I saw a crack. I wanted to hate the boy for being so careless with such expensive property that most people could only dream of, but he had given me his phone and he was acting quite friendly.

"Thank you. I'm Remus Lupin."

After I gave Black back his phone he said something.

"Sorry? I didn't quite hear what you said."

"I said, you can call me Sirius. I don't go in for formalities as much as the rest of my family does."

"You can call me Remus." It was a bit strange, Sirius acting so friendly after having known me for all of five minutes.

"So what school do you go to?"

"St Benedict's. And you?"

"Oh, I learn at home with a private tutor. So are you Catholic then?"

"No, my parents just wanted to send me to a good school." Privately I wondered who still learned with a private tutor in this day and age.

"Then you wouldn't cross yourself if you saw a werewolf?"

I stared at him.

"Well, you know, they say there are werewolfs in Watford."

"That's just a made-up tale to scare little kids."

"But what would you do if you did see a werewolf?"

This was one weird boy, but he was probably bored after such a long bus ride. I wondered what he had been doing all the way near Watford "I suppose I would run away as fast as I could. But not all werewolves have to be evil. There must be some who were bitten and don't want to hurt humans."

"Maybe turning into a werewolf makes you evil."

We talked about werewolves for the rest of the short ride to Sirius' stop. Right before he got off he stopped talking for a moment, took a deep breath and asked for my number in an almost scared tone of voice.

When I got home my parents screamed at me for awhile. At last my mum said, with tears in her eyes, "Remus, we didn't know where you were and you didn't answer your phone!"

I apologized over and over and hugged her. Then my dad took my phone away, saying, "If you can't be responsible with your phone you can't have it." So I only saw Sirius' texts two days after he had sent them.

I hadn't really expected him to text me because, after all, I was only a stranger he had met on the bus, but he had.

Sirius, 9PM: Hey, Remus!

Sirius, 9PM: I just had a great idea!

Sirius, 9:01PM: What if werewolves were made when someone cursed a vampire's pet dog?

Sirius, 8:07AM: Are you there?

I hurried to answer him, explaining what had happened. We texted some more about werewolves and then moved on to other subjects. I had, suddenly, become friends with a boy I had met on the bus when I missed my stop.

I hardly ever saw him except when we met on the bus on Tuesdays. His parents seemed to be very strict about who his friends were and where he spent his time. One Tuesday when I got on the bus I saw him with someone who looked like his little brother. He ducked his head away and shook it frantically when I started walking towards him. His brother noticed.

"Sirius, who is that?"

"No one, Regulus."

I understood that he was scared his brother might tell his parents about me. Though I understood, as I walked past them I smarted inside. I was not a rebel, just the opposite, so why wouldn't he tell his parents about me?

When the summer holidays started I thought I would see him more but he told me that his private tutor taught him all summer, he had no time off for school except for Christmas. I began to wonder whether he was telling the truth or just didn't want to see me.

I was busy in the summer and didn't talk to him as much. My family went on vacation to Scotland with Peter Pettigrew's family and when we came back I went out with my school friends and got a job working as a janitor in a chocolate store.

Peter Pettigrew was a boy of my age whose parents had been friends with my parents before we were born. He was mousy and clung to me, but he wasn't too bad and we were good enough friends when we met.

Then, one day, towards the end of the holiday Sirius texted me. He wanted to meet up with me and "one of your friends. I'm bringing James! We can solve the mystery of the Watford werewolves together, then!"

Sirius had told me about James. He was apparently a big prankster and played football in the Football League Youth Alliance. Sometimes I thought that he and I were Sirius' only friends since Sirius never mentioned anyone else.

Somehow I didn't want to bring any of my own friends to meet Sirius. Though I like him and he had become one of my best friends he could be a bit weird. For instance, when he met me we would invariably go to hang out in some side street that was off of the main road. And he was too quick to latch on to people. Then I thought of someone who wouldn't mind any of that. Peter.

He was my oldest friend even if we didn't see each other except when our parents met, anymore. And I was sure he would agree to meet someone with me. Though he could be very adventurous he didn't have many friends because of his clingy attitude.

We agreed to meet at a park near the Central Primary School. It was raining lightly and no one was in the park except for Sirius and and a slightly taller boy with jet black hair who I supposed was James. After the initial introductions were over I suggested that we go somewhere to get out of the rain which was steadily growing harder.

"What? I thought we were going to solve the mystery of the Watford werewolves. We can't do that if we're inside." Sirius said a little too quickly.

"I'd like to go inside, too," said Peter.

"Aw, come on guys. Sirius doesn't like being inside," said James.

We ended up huddling in one of the bus shelters near the primary school. I immediately liked James after what he had said to protect Sirius, even if he did act a bit arrogant. James seemed to be a person who liked anyone who could entertain him and apparently Peter and I did that quite well. Sirius seemed to like Peter, too.

After a while the rain stopped and we walked around town. Suddenly Sirius looked at his watch and went pale. "I have to go home," he said.

James stopped talking about football. "Do you want to sleep over at my house, mate? We've got enough room."

"No, thank you. I don't think I should."

Sirius said goodbye quietly and ran off. James waved and ran after him. I stared after them. I had never seen Sirius act like that and had never expected it from someone who was generally so happy and upbeat.

Remus, 7:59PM: Sirius, is everything okay? You just ran off

Remus, 10:06PM: Can you please answer?

Remus, 12:34AM: Are you getting these?

Sirius didn't answer until almost a week had passed and school had started again. Meanwhile I worried about him. I had already realized that something was wrong in his house. I decided the day after he had left in such a hurry to tell someone if he didn't answer by the next week.

Sirius, 1:54AM: Yeah

Sirius, 1:54AM: Got a new phone! My old one broke

I hoped that that had been the only reason he hadn't answered.

The autumn term passed quickly and soon it was Christmas. Sirius still saw each other on the bus on Tuesdays. I discovered that every Tuesday he had the afternoon free and he usually used it to visit different neighborhoods in London. I thought that seemed very boring but he seemed to enjoy.

Sometimes James, Sirius, Peter and I would meet up. We were becoming very good friends and often I felt that if they lived in my town I would hang out with them more than my friends from school.

Sirius hadn't said much about how he was going to celebrate Christmas-only that his parents were inviting a lot of stuffy, rich people over for dinner-but that was more than he usually said about what he was doing at home. So I was not surprised when he didn't text me for a few days. Then I got a text from James.

James, 2:32AM: Remus you have to come over right now!

I thought that he had gotten a new bike for Christmas or had figured out how to do a difficult move in football which was what had usually happened when he sent texts like that. I needed to get up early the next morning because my relatives were leaving so I ignored the text until the next morning.

James, 3:09AM: Remus! Its urgent!

James, 3:10AM: Sirius is here and hes all bruised up and my parents dont know a

James, 3:10AM: and I dont know what to do!

James, 3:36AM: Are you sleeping?

James, 3:36AM: I'm calling Peter

I looked at the texts and felt overwhelmed. I didn't know what to do anymore than James. Even though it sometimes felt like much more I was only older than him by two weeks. I thought that it was a job for an adult, but I didn't want to tell my parents. I loved them and told them most things, but Sirius had run to James' house, not mine. I felt that because of that, even if Sirius had only run there because it was closer, it was them we, James and I, should tell.

I dressed quickly and ran downstairs to get my coat, texting James on the way to tell him I was coming. I hoped I would be able to leave with no one seeing me so that I wouldn't have to lie about where I was going but I was not so lucky. My mum noticed me as I shrugged on my coat.

"Remus, love, where are you going?"

I thought about telling just part of the truth-that I was going to James' house. I knew, though, that my parents would never let me go as far as that when my relatives were leaving soon.

"Just for a short walk, Mum. I'll be back soon."

When I got to the bus stop the bus was already leaving and, though I made a sight of myself, running after it, yelling and waving my arms it went without me and I had to wait for the next bus. By the time I got to James' house I had already told my mum where I was going and that it was urgent and she had yelled at me through the phone, loud enough for the other passengers to hear.

James met me at the door.

"James, we have to tell your parents," I said.

"I know," he answered. "I already told them."

That was something I hadn't expected from irresponsible James. I had thought he might try to hide Sirius in his room for the rest of Christmas or smuggle him out of London. Sirius must be in bad shape.

James' father appeared behind him. "Hello Remus," he said , smiling at me. "I assume you've heard that our little Black boy is here?"

From behind my worry a thought wondered how long James' parents had known Sirius and if they had never asked to meet his parents. My parents had asked him who his parents were and where he lived and he had escaped their questions gracefully, not quite answering them yet satisfying them.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. Can I go see him?"

"Of course. He's in the guest room. It's down the hall to your right." James' mother passed as I walked with him down the hall and I heard begin whispering with Mr. Potter.

Sirius was sitting up in bed wearing James' pajamas when we came in. The guest room was small with a big window letting in the light. The bedsheets and blankets were white with a small pink flower pattern covering them. The thin, light blue curtains were closed shielding Sirius from any curious neighbors walking by.

"Hey, Remus!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Sirius, what happened?"

"Nothing much. My parents just got angry at me and beat me up again. I decided I was tired of it so I came here. James' parents adore me, you know. I'm like their second son." Sirius was grinning the whole time he was talking like he was telling an especially funny story. I heard the doorbell ring in the distance and James jumped up.

"That must be Peter! He said his parents could drive him." He left, leaving me alone with Sirius.

"Mrs. Potter's not letting me get up. She says I'm hurt and shocked. I tried telling her it was just a few bruises but she wouldn't listen.

I was inclined to agree with Mrs. Potter's analysis. What was it I had read about shock victims? That they experience emotional detachment? Sirius right then didn't seem emotionally attached to anything.

James and Peter entered the room. Peter spoke before Sirius.

"Hi Sirius. Are you okay?"

"Of course I am! Would you believe Mrs. Potter won't let me get up? She's says I'm hurt and shocked. I tried telling her I've been through this million times but she just wouldn't listen!"

"James...James told me your parents beat you up."

James pulled me aside and whispered, "He's been like this since he got here, acting all cheerful and like it didn't matter. His bruises are really big, though and he had a nosebleed. I was really scared he was going to leave before I could decide what to do and I had to convince him to stay here."

Mrs. Potter came in followed by Mr. Potter. "Boys," she said, smiling kindly, "you're getting Sirius overexcited and we have to talk to him. Why don't you leave for a few minutes? We'll call you back when we're done."

James, Peter and I were pushed out of the door and left to stand in the hallway, trying to listen to what was being said. When the Potters came out they told us that we could go in to talk to Sirius for a short time, but that after we finished Peter and I would have to leave because they wanted to talk to James.

Sirius seemed tired when we came in as if talking to the Potters had made him realize that he had been up almost all night. Peter and I left after a few minutes to let Sirius sleep. I called my parents on the way home to tell them the whole situation. They said nothing but, "We'll talk to you when we get back." I supposed I was in trouble, but I felt like I had done what I had needed to do and wouldn't mind any punishment I got.

After I finished my call Peter and I tried to make light conversation but we were thinking about Sirius and eventually gave up. I rested my head on the window and thought about the first time I had met him on a bus like the one I was on and how much his life had changed since then.

But how much has it really changed? I thought. He never agreed to let me meet his parents, or James, though he met James years before he met me and he mentioned today that his parents had beat him many times.

My parents punished me, but not too harshly. I think they understood why I had gone without telling them. They said, of course, that if I had told them they would have let me go. They also asked if I wanted to talk to someone about what had happened to Sirius. I refused.

James and Sirius kept Peter and I updated about the Potter's decisions. Eventually, they decided to let Sirius stay in their own house. He was too old to be fostered, but the Potter's treated him as if he was their own son. They bought him new clothes, turned the guest room into his room and registered him into James' school.

But now that I knew what Sirius' parents had done to him I began to understand some of his strange behaviors and notice knew ones, like how he flinched whenever someone waved their arms too wildly nearby him or when James demonstrated how to kick a football correctly.

He started staying in James' house, going out only for school, to work or when someone made him. As far as we knew nobody in his family was looking for him, but he was scared to go anywhere they had a chance of showing up.

Peter and I often took the long bus ride to James' house, especially for the first few months, just to see them since James didn't agree to leave Sirius' side. Then Sirius started growing popular in school.

He smiled too wide and acted too cheerful, but only we, his best friends, could see that. The kids in school saw him as the new, cool guy. He made new friends and to please them went out to all sorts of places, though, with us, he hardly ever agreed to leave the house.

I supposed it was good that his new friends were taking him out of the house, but I couldn't help but feel jealous. I wanted to be the one who got him to go outside. After all, I was his second true friend. And even though I knew that he was putting up an act for the new friends and would let himself break down around James, Peter and me it hurt.

Time passed and the GSCES came around. I studied with my friends from school, but most of them had drifted away, leaving me to often study alone. Sirius went out a lot with his new friends and he had mainly gotten over his fear of leaving the house, though he still didn't agree to go to Central London or anywhere near Islington. James was trying to get a girl he knew, Lily, to go out with him and he constantly mooned over her. Peter actually had a girlfriend and he spent most of his time with her. So we spent most of our time separately.

One day Sirius saw Regulus, his little brother. Apparently, Regulus had spent most of his free time looking for Sirius against his parents wishes. I don't know what Regulus said to Sirius, but Sirius called me crying.

I invited him over and he stayed the night, worrying that Regulus knew where he lived now. Suddenly, Sirius and I drifted back together. James decided that he needed a team in order to pull in Lily and also drifted back. Peter had never really left, but he did keep his girlfriend a while longer.

Challenges: Journey Through Hogwarts, The 2016 Monthly Prompt List Challenge

Prompts: Write a fic over 1000 words about whatever you want (3646 words), [Scenario] I fell asleep on the bus and missed my stop, and when I woke up you were the only one left on the bus. Please tell me where the hell I am!


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